The incident happened shortly after the aircraft took off from Boufarik military airport near the capital Algiers in the morning.<\/p>\n
Most of the dead are army personnel and their families, according to the defence ministry. Ten crew members were also killed.<\/p>\n
It is not yet clear what caused the crash.<\/p>\n
The army’s chief of staff has ordered an investigation into the crash and will visit the scene.<\/p>\n
It is the deadliest plane crash since July 2014, when all 298 people on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 died when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n
It is also the second-deadliest plane crash since 2003.<\/p>\n
The authorities are working to identify remains of those killed. Footage from the scene shows smoke coming off wreckage in a field.<\/p>\n
The plane, an Ilyushin Il-76, was travelling to Bechar in the south-west of the country.<\/p>\n
Among the dead are said to be 26 members of the Polisario Front, seeking independence from Morocco for Western Sahara and supported by Algeria.<\/p>\n
Four years ago a plane carrying military personnel and family members crashed in Algeria, killing 77 people.
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